Facing a tough advertising market, Dotdash Meredith is cutting 7% of its staff, the digital publisher's chief executive told employees on Thursday.

CEO Neil Vogel said in an email around that the company's business leaders and human resources staff had scheduled one-on-one meetings with 274 workers who would lose their jobs at the company, which publishes titles like Better Homes & Gardens, People and The Spruce.

The move comes as other media companies have made similar cuts. The Washington Post laid off 20 employees and closed 30 open positions Tuesday. Vox Media, AdWeek, NBC News, Vice Media and CNN also have cut jobs in the last two months.

"We are not immune to the broader challenges of the ad industry and of the economy as a whole," Vogel told employees in his email.

Dotdash Meredith lays off 45 Des Moines workers

A company spokesperson did return an email asking which positions will be impacted by the cuts, how many of those jobs are in Des Moines or the current number of jobs in Des Moines. But according to a notice that the company filed with Iowa Workforce Development, Dotdash Meredith laid off 45 local employees.

The company is the product of the former Dotdash's $2.7 billion acquisition of Des Moines-based Meredith Corp. in December 2021. A month before the merger, according to a letter submitted to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Meredith employed 870 workers in Des Moines.

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A division of the technology incubator IAC, New York-based Dotdash financed the deal in part by borrowing about $1.6 billion. Since the merger, Dotdash Meredith has faced a tough advertising environment; fears of a recession motivated clients to pull back on marketing.

Dotdash Meredith estimated in December that its year-over-year revenue for the month declined by 28%. Annual comparisons to the pre-merger time are inexact, as accountants have to compare the performance of two separate businesses to that of the new, combined organization.

In August, the company rescinded Iowa tax credits that required managers to hire 41 employees. The company also sold one of its two downtown Des Moines buildings to MidAmerican Co. in December.

"With the difficult market environment and economic uncertainty that lie ahead, we must prioritize our biggest opportunities and make sure we have the proper cost structure in place to pursue them," Vogel wrote to employees Thursday. "Today's actions provide the most effective and focused use of our resources and put us in a position of strength as we look toward the future."

Vogel said the company will provide severance and the option for continued health insurance. Employees can also opt to receive help from an outplacement service.

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This story has been updated to include information provided by Dotdash Meredith's layoff notice to Iowa Workforce Development.

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Dotdash Meredith lays off 45 Des Moines workers amid cuts